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Social Welfare Benefits.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2004

Wednesday, 11 February 2004

Questions (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

84 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position regarding the implementation of an all-Ireland free travel scheme for pensioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3883/04]

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Paul Kehoe

Question:

107 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she has re-evaluated the use of vouchers for the free travel scheme. [3995/04]

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Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

310 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she has plans to extend the free travel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4368/04]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 107 and 310 together.

The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over, to all carers in receipt of carer's allowance and to carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance. It is also available to certain people with disabilities and people who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.

The scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as services provided by over 80 private transport operators. The vast majority of private contractors providing services under the scheme operate in rural areas. I am always willing to consider applications from licensed private transport operators who may wish to participate in the free travel scheme. However, while my Department pays transport providers to operate the free travel scheme, it is not in a position to provide transport services where none exist.

Various alternatives to the existing system, including the use of vouchers, have been examined. A study published in 2000 under the Department's programme of expenditure reviews concluded that a voucher type system, which would be open to a wide range of transport providers including taxis and hackneys, would be extremely difficult to administer, open to abuse and unlikely to be sufficient to afford an acceptable amount of travel. This position remains unchanged.

The issue of access to public transport in rural areas is being addressed currently through the rural transport initiative, which is being managed by Area Development Management, ADM, on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport.

The free travel scheme, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland concessionary travel scheme, also provides free travel on cross-Border routes for pass holders of both jurisdictions. This scheme applies to cross-Border journeys and not to travel exclusively within either jurisdiction.

The implementation of an all-Ireland free travel scheme for pensioners resident in all parts of this island will require detailed discussions and agreements with the relevant authorities and transport providers on both sides of the Border. Preliminary discussions have taken place and further discussions will be initiated shortly.

Significant improvements have been made to the free schemes, including the free travel scheme, in recent budgets both in terms of the qualifying conditions and the coverage of the schemes. I will continue to review the operation of these schemes with a view to identifying the scope for further improvements as resources permit.

Dan Boyle

Question:

85 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the degree of consultation entered into by her Department with the Departmentof the Environment, Heritage and Local Government prior to her decision to alter criteria for the payment of supplementary welfare allowance. [4027/04]

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Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

94 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if discussions have been had with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with a view to ensuring that families do not become homeless as a result of demarcation difficulties or policy changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4024/04]

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Liz McManus

Question:

120 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reasons she has chosen to implement cuts in rent supplements that have now come into effect; the reason she chose no longer to approve crèche supplements and a supplement to assist persons in debt to deal with repayments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3875/04]

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Joan Burton

Question:

141 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the degree of discretion which remains with community welfare officers in making assessments of housing needs subsequent to the introduction of changes in the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, particularly regarding the rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3857/04]

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Willie Penrose

Question:

142 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the extent of internal consultations that took place in her Department on changes that were introduced in the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, particularly in respect of the rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3853/04]

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I propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 94, 120, 141 and 142 together.

As the Deputies are aware, I have recently introduced a number of changes to the supplementary welfare allowance scheme under which rent and other supplements are paid. These measures re-focus the supplementary welfare allowance scheme on its original objective of providing short-term income support.

On the question of consultation with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Deputies will be aware that a planning group on future rental assistance arrangements has been in place for some time, with representatives of both Departments, the Department of Finance and others. Arising from the work of this group, an action plan is being developed on housing needs. Some of the measures that were announced in the Book of Estimates, including the six month rule, were first considered in the discussions on the action plan prior to the Estimates announcements in November 2003.

My Department also had detailed consultations with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government since last November and fully considered its views regarding the regulations which gave effect to the rent supplement changes and the circular to health boards which set out the detail of the changes. I do not envisage any circumstances in which families could become homeless as a result of these measures.

The new measures were the subject of extensive discussions within my Department over a number of months. Their impact was fully assessed and the manner of their implementation has been carefully designed to ensure the interests of vulnerable groups such as the homeless, elderly and disabled are fully protected. The six months prior renting requirement will not apply in their case. In effect, the only people who will no longer qualify for rent supplement because of the six month rule are people who in the opinion of the housing authority do not have a housing need.

The crèche supplement was introduced with the intention of providing assistance to the parent of a child who is in need of a short-term emergency support. Payments of crèche supplements were increasingly being made for reasons which are clearly outside the scope of the objectives of the scheme as originally envisaged. In effect, long-term child care needs were being met through a short-term emergency provision scheme.

Supplements to assist people in debt were being made under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme because the people concerned had entered into repayment arrangements that were so onerous they did not have enough income left to meet their basic needs. The decision to discontinue this supplement was based on the fact that these supplements had become a long-term arrangement and effectively a subsidy for creditors. The withdrawal of the supplement will encourage creditors to accept more realistic repayment arrangements which the debtor will be in a position to meet.

These changes are being introduced at this time because the policy issues I have outlined required a response and it was appropriate to do in the context of the 2004 Estimates.

None of the changes I have made restrict the discretion of a health board to make a payment in exceptional circumstances where a board considers that the circumstances of the case so warrant. It is estimated that the new measures will lead to savings in the region of €19 million per annum. This is equivalent to about 3% of spending on the SWA scheme.

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